Multi-point Observations and Modeling of CMEs at the Austrian Space Weather Office

Understanding the structure and evolution of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) is essential for accurately forecasting their space weather impacts at Earth and other planets. The complicated nature of the processes affecting CMEs as they propagate makes understanding and predicting the physical properties and global structure of CMEs a challenging task, from both a fundamental and practical space weather perspective.

At the Austrian Space Weather Office, we aim to bridge the gap between fundamental research and real-time space weather forecasts. To do so, we combine numerical and empirical techniques, leading to hyperfast models driven and validated with a wide range of spacecraft data. These models include 3DCORE which uses in-situ magnetic field data to reconstruct or forward model the global shape and magnetic structure of a CME, and ELEvoHI which uses heliospheric imaging data to fit time-elongation tracks of CMEs to model their interplanetary evolution and predict arrival time and speed at Earth. Using multi-point observations, both in-situ and remote, have allowed us to make significant progress in understanding the nature of CMEs, and form a good basis from which to build upon utilizing upcoming missions such as Vigil, PUNCH, and possible future constellation missions.